Air gun with rotatable ammunition loading door

ABSTRACT

An air gun having an elongated tubular housing which is separated into a barrel-magazine chamber and an air compression chamber by a separating block assembly which provides a shot feed passage and firing chamber connected to both chambers while also serving as a cylinder head for the air compression chamber. A one-piece sliding rotatable shot loading plastic door is mounted on a barrel within the tubular housing. A pivotally mounted cocking lever carries a trigger for releasing a spring loaded plunger associated with the air compression chamber by operative engagement with a sear only when the cocking lever is in a stowed position whereat the major portions of the cocking lever are located within a cocking lever slot in the gun.

Fischer 1 June 10, 1975 1 1 AIR GUN WITH ROTATABLE 1573.383 2/1926Lcfever 124/49 1978.799 10/1934 Lefeverl 124/49 x AMMUNITION LOADINGDOOR [75| Inventor: Earl L. Fischer, Bentonville. Ark.

[73] Assignee: Victor Comptometer Corporation Chicago, 111.

[22] Filed: June 20, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 371,731

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Scr. No 54,354, July 13.1970 Pat No.

[52] US. Cl. 124/49 [51] Int. CLM. F411) 11/00; F4lf 1/04; F4lc 25/00[58] Field of Search v. 124/15, 45, 49, 50,51 R. 124/51 A, 52, 53

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 614,533 11/1898 Calkins cta1, 124/51 R 662,054 11/1900 Burrow r. 124/51 R 944.188 12/1909 Hcilprinl. 124/15 1259.463 3/1918 De Fir we 124/15 1,464,610 8/1923 Keil 124/15Prinmry Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerRichard T.Stoufi'er Attorney. Agent, or FirmBruce G. Klaas [57] ABSTRACT An airgun having an elongated tubular housing which is separated into abarrel-magazine chamber and an air compression chamber by a separatingblock assem bly which provides a shot feed passage and firing chamberconnected to both chambers while also serving as a cylinder head for theair compression chamber. A one-piece sliding rotatable shot loadingplastic door is mounted on a barrel within the tubular housing Apivotally mounted cocking lever carries a trig ger for releasing aspring loaded plunger associated with the air compression chamber byoperative engagement with a sear only when the cocking lever is in astowed position whereat the major portions of the cocking lever arelocated within a cocking lever slot in the gun.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 10 ms 1 AIR GUN WITH ROTATABLEAMMUNITION LOADING DOOR The present application is a divisionalapplication of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 54,354, filed July I3,1970, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,903.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is relatedto air guns of the type which fire 38's by compressed air and is theresult of an attempt to provide a new and improved air gun which will beeasier and cheaper to manufacture, as well as safer and more reliable inuse.

A specific feature of the invention is the provision of a new andimproved magazine loading door made from one piece of resilient plasticmaterial to reduce parts and close tolerances, assembled in a morefacile manner, and operable in a more efficient and trouble free manner.

Brief Description of the Drawing FIG. I is a side elevational viewpartly in section illustrating the new and improved air gun of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatusof FIG. 1 taken along the line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatusof FIG. 1 taken along the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatusof FIG. 1 taken along the line 4-4; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatusof FIG. 1 taken along the line 5-5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION IN GENERAL The presently preferredforms of the inventive concepts are shown to be illustratively embodiedin a rifle type gun adapted to fire ammunition, in the form of BB typeshot, by compressed air. While the inventive concepts provide particularadvantages in association with the illustrative type gun and ammunition,it will be understood that the inventive concepts are believed to beapplicable in whole or in part to other types of guns including airignition guns, pneumatic guns, play guns with only compressed airoperated noise making mech anism, and other guns which operate onsimilar principles. The illustrative firing mechanism comprises aircompression cylinder means in which air is compressed by a piston meansreciprocably mounted therein with an air tube extending forwardly intobarrel means having a bore through which the ammunition is fired. Thepiston means is driven by a compression spring and held in a cockedfiring position by a releasable sear. A cocking lever means is providedto move the piston means to the cocked firing position and a triggermeans is operably associated with the sear means to release the pistonmeans.

HOUSING MEANS Substantially all of the firing mechanism of theillustrative gun is mounted with an elongated one-piece tubular housinghaving a generally cylindrical slightly tapered barrel portion 12connected to an enlarged cylindrical air compression cylinder portion 14by an integrally formed annular shoulder 16. Thus, the tubular housingmember has a first portion with a smaller inside diameter than a secondportion and includes a shoulder I6 connecting the first portion to thesecond portion. An annular chamber separating block means 18 separatesthe tubular housing into a barrel-magazine chamber 20 and an aircompression chamber 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the block means 18 has ashould corresponding to shoulder I6 which locates the separating blockwithin the tubular housing member. The front end of the housing isnotched as at 24 to receive a front sight casting 26 suitably securedtherein as by threaded fas tening means 28. Integral depending generallyparallel spaced flanges 30. 32, FIG. 4, are formed along the rear end ofthe housing and define a downwardly opening slot 34. A forearm casting36 of generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration is provided withelongated side Walls 38, 40 and interior support ribs 42, 44, 46 whichcradle the tubular housing. The forward end of the forearm casting issecured to the tubular housing by threaded fastening means 48 receivedin the separation block 18. A receiver cover 50 surrounds and connectsthe rear of the tubular housing 10 and forearm casting 36 to a stockcasting 52. The rear end tubular housing and the receiver cover aresecured to one another by spot welding. Rivets 54, 56 extend through thehousing and cover to provide pivot pins as hereinafter described. Thestock casting is secured to the housing by screw means 58.

BARREL MEANS A barrel 60 having a shot bore 62 extends between and issupported by the front sight casting 26 and the separating block 18. Anenlarged bore 64 in the front sight casting is aligned with the shotbore. The rear end of the barrel is secured within the separating blockmeans 18 by an interlock comprising a slot in the barrel and aprotruding rib 66 on the separating block means.

SHOT STORAGE MEANS The outside diameter of the barrel 60 issubstantially less than the inside diameter of the tubular housing 10 soas to provide a shot chamber extending the length of the barrel.

A shot loading opening 68 is provided in the tubular housing between theends of the barrel and has a general rectangular configuration. Amovable loading door 70 is associated with the loading opening andmovable relative thereto between a closed shot retaining position and anopen shot loading position. The door is molded in one piece fromresilient plastic material, such as Delrin or Nylon, and comprises ashutter portion 72 of generally arcuate shape connected to a hingeportion 74 by a flexible arm portion 76. A generally annular bearinggroove 78 is formed in the hinge portion by opposite flexible resilientwall segments 80, 82 which in an unflexed state define a bearing grooveof lesser diameter than the outside diameter of the barrel and which areresiliently flexible to an open position for snap-on engagement with thebarrel. The shutter portion is provided with a generally annular outsidesurface which in an inwardly flexed state has a diameter approximatelyequal to the inside diameter of the tubular housing and in an unflexedstate is of somewhat larger diameter. Thus, in the assembled position,the shutter portion 72 is held under compression by resilient inwarddeflection of the arm portion relative to the hinge portion. Detentmeans are provided to locate and hold the door in the closed positionwhich comprise integral abutment surfaces 84, 86 engageable withopposite edges of the loading opening. An integral release rib 88 isformed on the outermost end of the door so that the shutter portion maybe pushed radially inwardly to release the detent means and pushedcircumferentially by sliding rotating movement relative to the tubularhousing and the barrel until an abutment 90 engages the edge of theloading opening. An arrow may be formed on the outer surface of the doorby an integral rib 92 to indicate the direction of movement to open thedoor.

SHOT FEED AND HOLDING MEANS The separating block means 18 is formed byseparable upper and lower die casting halves 94, 96 which are stakedtogether or otherwise secured after assembly. A firing chamber 98 iscentrally provided in the separating block means behind the rear end ofthe barrel and is connected to the shot magazine chamber by a loadingchute comprising a curved bore 100 and an axially extending slot 102integrally formed in the upper half. A shot holding means 104 ofresilient plastic material; such as Delrin or Nylon, is flexibly mountedin the separating block means. A shot cup portion 106 is located in thefiring chamber and a spring finger portion 108 extends forwardly beneaththe barrel and is held by the barrel in an L-shaped retaining slot 110in the lower half of the separating block means. A relief slot 112extends beneath the rear portion of the shot holding means to permitdownward resilient flexing movement. The shot cup provides asemi-spherical shot seat 114 surrounded by an annular rim 116 whichsurrounds and holds the shot on all sides. Thus, the slot holding meanscomprises a semi-spherical ammunition seat 114 providing an inclinedannular rim 116 having a raised front portion located between the barrelmeans and the seat with a lowered rear portion located between the seatand the air tube 126. The shot holding means is separate from andmovable relative to the separating block and the barrel means whilebeing supported in cantilever fashion with spring means 108 normallybiasing the seat portion toward a retaining position until a projectileis to be tired, at which time the seat is moved to a release positionlocated radially outwardly relative to the bore 66 to permit theprojectile to be driven off the seat and through the bore. Thisarrangement eliminates any possibility of jamming or double feeding andinsures proper alignment of the shot. Also, the apparatus comprises aminimum number of parts which may be assembled in a new and improvedmanner.

AIR COMPRESSION MEANS The rear portion of the separating block means 18provides a compression chamber head having a central bore 120 alignedwith the barrel bore and connecting the firing chamber to the aircompression chamber through a sealing washer 122 suitably interlockedwith the separating block means as by a rib and groove arrangement shownat 124. An air tube 126 is slidably mounted in bore 120 and fixedlyattached at the rear to a plunger head assembly 128 including a plungerwasher 130, a felt washer 132, and a rearwardly extending shaft 134. Ahollow tubular plunger rod 136 is fixedly mounted over the shaft 134 bya plunger pin 138 and extends rearwardly within the tubular housing. Acompression drive spring 140 is mounted circumjacent the plunger rod andheld between the plunger pin and a fixed abutment plate 142 extendingthrough aligned slots 144, 146 in the tubular housing and receivedhousing. The upper portion 148 of the plate is rearwardly bent to extendalong the upper surface of the bun and provide a rear sight flangeportion 150. The rear portion of the plunger is reduced in size andextends through the spring abutment plate. A sear abutment 152 isprovided at the rear of the plunger by inclined flange portions.

OPERATING MEANS A sear lever 154 is pivotally mounted on rivet 56 formovement of a keeper portion 156 into and out of retaining engagementwith the sear abutment of the plunger rod. A spring 158 biases the seartoward a holding position relative to the plunger. A trigger 160 ispivotally mounted in a trigger slot 162 on a pin 164 carried by acocking lever 166. A spring 168 biases the trigger forwardly to aholding position with a trigger abutment 170 operatively associated withthe sear lever. When the trigger is pulled rearwardly, trigger abutment170 forces the rear end of the sear lever upwardly to release theplunger rod and fire the gun. A trigger safety 172 is also carried bythe cocking lever and is slidable into and out of blocking engagementwith a trigger safety flange 174.

The cocking lever is pivoted about rivet 54 to move to a cockingposition with a cam arm 176 in engagement with plunger abutment 152 toforce the plunger rearwardly against the bias of the driving spring 140over the front end of the sear to the cocked position. A handle portion178 of the cocking lever extends rearwardly and downwardly within ahandle slot 180 in the stock casting 52 as shown in FIG. 5. A retainingclip 182 is mounted in the handle slot and has resilient fingers 184,186 which grippingly receive the handle in the stowed position. Thehandle is downwardly rearwardly curved and terminates in a transverseabutment flange 188 adapted to abuttingly engage a corresponding surface190 on the stock casting. The rear portion of the flange 188 is offsetrelative to the adjacent portion of the stock casting to provide agrippable release lever.

I claim:

1. A gun for firing a projectile through a cylindrical bore in anelongated cylindrical barrel means comprising:

an elongated housing surrounding the cylindrical barrel means having afront end portion and a rear end portion and defined at least in part bya cylindrical wall having an inner cylindrical surface and defining aprojectile storage chamber therebetween,

front end wall means mounted in said front end portion of said elongatedhousing providing a front end wall for said storage chamber,

rear end wall means mounted in said rear end portion of said elongatedhousing and providing a rear end wall for said storage chamber,

a projectile loading opening in said cylindrical wall intermediate saidfront end wall and said rear end wall of said elongated housing,

a loading door separate from said front and rear end wall means andaxially spaced therefrom rotatably mounted within said housingcircumjacent an intermediate portion of said barrel means between and inaxially spaced relationship to said front end wall and said rear endwall,

means rotatably supporting said loading door relative to said housingand said barrel means, and

said loading door having an outer cylindrical surface rotatably slidablysupported by said inner cylindrical surface of said housing and beingslidably rotatable relative to said housing and relative to said barrelmeans between a closed position and an open position relative to saidloading opening.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein:

said elongated housing comprising a tubular housing member having aninner wall providing said inner cylindrical surface, and

said door comprising a one-piece plastic member having an integral hingeportion mounted on the barrel means and an integral shutter portion ofgenerally arcuate shape slidably supported on the inner cylindricalsurface of the inner wall of said tubular housing member circumjacentsaid barrel means.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 and said door further comprising:7

an axially extending slot in the hinge portion having resilientexpandable wall portions and a semicylindrical surface with a diameterapproximately equal to the diameter of said barrel means,

said barrel means being received in said slot with said wall portionsbeing resiliently expanded and retain- 6 ingly grippingly pivotallyholding said door on said barrel means,

said shutter portion being flexibly connected to said hinge portion,

a generally cylindrical outer surface on said shutter portion having adiameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of said tubularhousing member, and

an outer surface on said shutter portion for applying a generallytangentially directed force to the door to cause pivotal movement aboutsaid barrel means to open and close said loading opening.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 and there being detent means onsaid door and said tubular housing member to hold said door in theclosed position, said detent means being releasable by inward flexing ofsaid shutter portion relative to said hinge portion.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein:

said door comprising a one-piece member made of resilient materialmounted within and confined by said housing in a resiliently inwardlydeflected position, and

said door exerting a resilient outwardly directed force against saidinner cylindrical surface of said housing.

1. A gun for firing a projectile through a cylindrical bore in anelongated cylindrical barrel means comprising: an elongated housingsurrounding the cylindrical barrel means having a front end portion anda rear end portion and defined at least in part by a cylindrical wallhaving an inner cylindrical surface and defining a projectile storagechamber therebetween, front end wall means mounted in said front endportion of said elongated housing providing a front end wall for saidstorage chamber, rear end wall means mounted in said rear end portion ofsaid elongated housing and providing a rear end wall for said storagechamber, a projectile loading opening in said cylindrical wallintermediate said front end wall and said rear end wall of saidelongated housing, a loading door separate from said front and rear endwall means and axially spaced therefrom rotatably mounted within saidhousing circumjacent an intermediate portion of said barrel meansbetween and in axially spaced relationship to said front end wall andsaid rear end wall, means rotatably supporting said loading doorrelative to said housing and said barrel means, and said loading doorhaving an outer cylindrical surface rotatably slidably supported by saidinner cylindrical surface of said housing and being slidably rotatablerelative to said housing and relative to said barrel means between aclosed position and an open position relative to said loading opening.2. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein: said elongatedhousing comprising a tubular housing member having an inner wallproviding said inner cylindrical surface, and said door comprising aone-piece plastic member having an integral hinge portion mounted on thebarrel means and an integral shutter portion of generally arcuate shapeslidably supported on the inner cylindrical surface of the inner wall ofsaid tubular housing member circumjacent said barrel means.
 3. Theinvention as defined in claim 2 and said door further comprising: anaxially extending slot in the hinge portion having resilient expandablewall portions and a semi-cylindrical surface with a diameterapproximately equal to the diameter of said barrel means, said barrelmeans being received in said slot with said wall portions beingresiliently expanded and retainingly grippingly pivotally holding saiddoor on said barrel means, said shutter portion being flexibly connectedto said hinge portion, a generally cylindrical outer surface on saidshutter portion having a diameter approximately equal to the insidediameter of said tubular housing member, and aN outer surface on saidshutter portion for applying a generally tangentially directed force tothe door to cause pivotal movement about said barrel means to open andclose said loading opening.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 3 andthere being detent means on said door and said tubular housing member tohold said door in the closed position, said detent means beingreleasable by inward flexing of said shutter portion relative to saidhinge portion.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein: saiddoor comprising a one-piece member made of resilient material mountedwithin and confined by said housing in a resiliently inwardly deflectedposition, and said door exerting a resilient outwardly directed forceagainst said inner cylindrical surface of said housing.